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Shock Collars: Necessary or Not?

July 17, 2013

All of us who love dogs wouldn’t intentionally cause them pain. They are our true friends. Our faithful friends. Unconditional love.

Your dog’s unabashed love for you is one of the reasons you love your dog so much. Your dog wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s definitely in love with you, you, you! The way he greets you when you walk in the door, the always faithful walking companion, and the dog that needs his head on your shoe when he hangs out with you.

I talk to people everyday who love their dog like this. These folks delight in their dog. And their dog returns the emotion ten-fold.

When the talk turns to training, though, I occasionally hear things like “stubborn,” “hard headed,” and “corrections.”

This is the same dog who can’t wait for you to walk through the door, right? The dog that would walk over hot coals to get to you, yes? The dog whose devotion is unmatched?

So why the double-talk?

It’s because for so many years we didn’t know better and we didn’t really know how to teach dogs how to do what we asked.

We just strong armed them into doing it and we considered that a success. And success begets more “success,” — or, really, more strong-arming. The more it looks like making a dog do something works well, the more we tend to do it.

Thanks to the new studies on the canine mind, we’re learning that the old fashioned way — punishment, corrections, shock — are not really the fastest and easiest way to train our dog.

Teaching the dog what you’d like him to do, then noticing and rewarding him when he does is actually the fastest way to teach a dog something — anything!

Which should make all dog owners delirious with delight. No longer do you have to use corrections, prong collars, shock collars, e-collars, or stim-collars.

Deep down you didn’t want to do it anyway, but it’s the way dogs had always been trained, and you may not have known there was another way.

Think about how much you love your dog. How much your dog loves you. Teach your dog like you love your dog.

Train Your Dog Like You Love Him

June 28, 2013

I’ve loved dogs since I was a little girl. I’ve always had dogs. I chose to make dogs my profession. Not because it’s lucrative (it isn’t) or because it’s easy (it isn’t that either). But because I want dogs to have the most fantastic life possible.

Dogs don’t get to choose where they live or how they’re treated. They don’t get any say in how — or even if — they’re taught how to behave.

Their entire life is in the hands of their owner.

Think about that for a moment. Their entire life. Every decision. Every consequence. Not up to them.

I started my training career using old-fashioned methods: I used a choke chain, I scolded, I corrected. I would also use praise, too, but relied most heavily on “fixing” what the dog was doing wrong.

I earned my M.A. in psychology and in doing so was immersed in the laws of behavior and learning. With this knowledge, I realized every living being with a brain learns the exact same way:

We repeat what works for us. This changed the way I looked at my dogs.

I quit looking for (and correcting) what my dogs were doing wrong. And oh! Did I start having a much better time with my dogs! I began catching my dogs when they were doing things I liked. Turns out, they very often did things that were good, but because I was so busy looking for the bad things, I didn’t even notice all the good.

I’ve sent silent apologies to all the dogs with whom I’ve crossed paths for the way I treated them back then. For the times when I didn’t understand how to teach them what they needed to know. For the countless times I used corrections instead of instruction. For all the confusion they experienced because of my lack of knowledge.

Back then, I didn’t know there was a better way. I was doing the best I could. That’s what fuels me now. When we know better, we do better. My mission is to reach as many dog owners as I can and show them how they can love their four-legged best friend and have a great life together. And it’s all about training.

So while I wouldn’t trade this job for any other, when I see dog owners asking their friends for advice to fix their dog’s problems and read answers like “squirt him with water,” or “the electronic collar worked wonders,” it makes my heart hurt. The dog isn’t “being bad” on purpose. He’s not trying to push the owner’s buttons. There’s almost always a reason for the behavior. Dealing with that bad behavior using corrections isn’t fair.

The simple solution almost always involves teaching the dog to do what you want him to do. And very rarely is the solution to punish, correct, scold, or discipline.

Here’s what I know: you love your dog. You don’t want to do mean things to your dog, you probably just don’t know what to do. In the absence of any other information, people resort to the one thing they do know: get rid of the bad behavior.

I’m here to tell you there is a better way. A way that will teach your dog what you want him to do. That in the very doing, will get rid of the bad stuff. You love your dog — train him like you love him.

This blog is full of easy, fun, and effective solutions to problem behaviors. Take a look around. Leave a comment on a post if you have a question. I want to help you love your dog even more than you do already. A little training goes a long way.

Dog Safety: Mirrors Break Easily

June 25, 2013

Mirror, mirror on the wall, why did you have to fall?

The best lessons are learned the hard way. This lesson could have been a lot harder to learn and I’m thankful no dogs were injured.

I’ve got a full-length mirror on the back of my bedroom door. It’s a recent addition — it’s only been up about six months. I didn’t give a second thought to the placement of the mirror; it made perfect sense to put it on the back of the bedroom door (or so I thought).

What I didn’t consider are the dogs. The bedroom has been their “crate” now that the Dane is too big for his actual crate and he can’t be trusted with very much freedom. I failed to consider that the dogs might play together while their “crated” in the bedroom. Or that maybe, in their exuberance, they might jump on the door when they hear me return home.

I understand my thinking: all of our dogs are aging — ours are 11, 10, and almost 8 years old. I failed to consider the adolescent Dane. He’s big. He’s clumsy. And when he gets wound up, he can almost take down a wall. Hindsight shows me clearly that the mirror stood very little chance of survival.

Then, add another adolescent Great Dane to the mix. We’re watching the sweet Siena (now Gracie) — which is just heaven (another blog post coming on that). Those two dogs are like wrecking balls on four legs!

The Danes were apparently goofing off — wrestling, chasing, body slamming. It happens frequently, and I’ve never given it a second thought. Until the mirror broke.

Panic!

Don’t move, dogs. Don’t move.

The shards were swept and vacuumed and are safely wrapped in newspaper and in the garbage now. But the vision of shredded paws, veins sliced open, and blood everywhere literally haunts me. What if one of them (or all of them) had gotten cut? Or a piece of glass stuck? My god, the nightmares…

The moral of the story: look at everything in your house with a fresh eye and answer the question “Could this hurt my dog(s) if it got broken?” If your dogs have access to kitchen and pantry areas, ask yourself “What would happen if my dog got into the cabinets or the pantry?” There are A LOT of things that could hurt your dog if they get into them. Glass shards are but one of the many things.

I’m thankful that I learned a lesson and the only cost was a full-length mirror. I’m not sure where it’s replacement will go, but I know it won’t go on the back of my bedroom door again.

What’s your biggest a-ha moment or “crisis averted” story? Please share your lessons learned, I think we can all learn from one another!

Friday Fun: Dogs Gettin’ Dirty in the Mud

June 7, 2013

I’ve seen the pictures of the dogs who like to bathe in the mud. I didn’t really believe those pictures, I thought they were set up. I know dogs who don’t mind getting wet and muddy, but I’ve never met a dog who would actually wallow in the mud.

I guess when you’re around enough dogs, you’re bound to see everything.

Take this dog for instance:

Anyone recognize that crazy Labrador? That’s the one and only…Monti! She’s now back at tue service dog organization and her new caretaker took this video to show me all the mischief she’s getting into.

It shouldn’t come as any surprise, I guess. Look at this picture when I first brought her home. If you look closely at her nose, you’ll see that even as a wee pup, she was into all things dirty.

Here’s another dog enjoying the mud. Schooner got a late start compared to Monti, but he’s thoroughly enjoying himself in the rain.

Do your dogs like to get down and dirty in the mud? Leave a comment and let us know!

Doggie Hide and Seek

June 4, 2013

Not too long ago, a few things went missing around our house. My husband lost a tube of toothpaste. I lost my iPod. Turns out, a lot more than that went missing, we just didn’t notice. Can YOU spot the treasure in the couch cushions?

Imagine my surprise when I found both of these things buried deep in our couch. I happened to find these treasures when we had company over, which made the scene even funnier (and more embarrassing).

I happened to sit on the couch — which is missing it’s cushions (as it was when we had company over) — as Schooner was eating dinner and for no good reason slipped my hand in the crevice and was surprised to feel something buried in there.

I gave the object a slight tug and was rewarded with the tube of toothpaste. It was so unexpected (not the object, but that the object was the missing toothpaste) that I let out a triumphant yell. The missing toothpaste mystery had been solved! It was a mystery: toothpaste doesn’t simply vanish. Usually, we find remnants of the missing objects and our examination of those remnants tells the tale of the object’s demise. Usually, the certificate of death for the object reads: “Death due to chewing.”

I found the toothpaste and then my curiosity got the better of me. What else might I find if I was brave enough to push my hand between the cushions again. I’ll be honest, there’s a lot of hair and a lot of dirt in there, too. And putting my hand into a dark, tight spot is a little frightening — I just pulled toothpaste out of the couch, what else could be hiding in there? Something living, is what I was scared of.

Nonetheless, I searched some more. Lo and behold, my missing iPod. No parts were damaged, it was completely intact. It almost looked like Schooner was using the cushion-less couch as a kind of doggie locker. It’s where he kept his valuables safe from the other dogs (and until that moment, safe from us).

By the way, the cushions are put back onto the sofa every day. And every evening, they’re on the floor again. It’s a game Schooner and I play. It’s a fun game — for him.

Based on my findings, I’ve added a new “to-do” to my schedule every week: Search Schooner’s locker for hidden treasures.

See the hidden toy?

By the way, the hidden object in the picture above is this toy stuffed way down in the back of the sofa.

Tell me: Does your dog have a hiding spot for goodies? Does he like your goodies or does he stash his own goodies? Leave a comment and let me know!

Nemo’s Nose Works

May 16, 2013

Our names were called and Nemo and I walked toward the start line. Our first element was Vehicles. There was a nice breeze and Nemo’s nose was working long before it was our turn to come from behind the visual barrier and begin working the hide.

We got the go-ahead sign. Nose twitching, Nemo took off. Past the first vehicle. Past the second vehicle. I was having a hard time keeping up with him! He came to the third vehicle, nose glued to the body of the car, and he nailed the hide in the wheel well.

“Alert!” I called. It seemed like forever before the judge said “Yes! Pay your dog.”

Whew! One element down, three more to go.

Nemo and I were a team in a K9 Nose Work Trial. We were going after the first level: our goal was the title of NW1. The only route to an NW1 title is through four correct “finds.”

Our second element was Exteriors. The hide — birch scented cotton swabs — was somewhere on the outside of a cabin. Our search area included the cabin’s exterior, the sidewalk, and the ramp/porch. It didn’t take Nemo very long to find that birch scent under a dandelion in the crack of the sidewalk. Another successful alert.

Two down, two to go.

Our third hide was Containers. Our nemesis. Nemo had falsely alerted in practice sessions quite a bit in this element. I did my best to stamp out my nerves, took a deep breath and gave Neems the “find it” cue. Two steps in, three steps to the left, Nemo gave me the tell-tale signal that he’d found the birch yet again. Another “Alert!” and “Pay your dog!” scenario.

Just one more and we’d have our NW1. Pressure was really on (on me, of course, this is all just a fun game for Neems).

The last hide was in the Interior element. The search area was inside a kids cabin at a 4-H Camp. Nemo got “in odor” almost right away, and it took him several seconds to really pin it down. In a Nose Work Trial, the dog’s nose has to be on the odor. I need to be able to tell the judge, if asked, exactly where the hide is. The judges are excellent at their job — you can’t see the hide no matter your angle. The only clue you have is where your dog’s nose is.

I made the call when Nemo’s nose stopped moving and his head went up and under. Our last hide and another success!

We had so much fun together — we were really a team and really on it that day. The whole day (and it was a long day — from 8:30a to about 5:30p) felt good. I knew Nemo’s body language, I was confident when I called alert and he was rock-solid on his finds.

At the award ceremony, I picked up Nemo’s very handsome NW1 ribbon. Our first ribbon ever for anything! It was thrilling.

In addition to the NW1 title ribbons, there are also ribbons awarded for exceptional teamwork between dog and handler. These “Pronounced” ribbons are given for the teams that earn their title and only if every judge independently deems the team outstanding. When Nemo and I were presented with our NW1 ribbon, we were also given the Pronounced ribbon! I was floored. The NW runs felt good to me, but I was taken by surprise with the nod from the judges.

In that Vehicle search, the one where Nemo blasted past the first two cars with nary a glance, he was the second fastest dog of the day! We collected a 2nd place Vehicles ribbon!

His quick work on all four elements was somehow fast enough to earn him the Third Place Overall ribbon! He was the third fastest dog of the day!

We left with a lot more than we came for. And a lot more than we ever expected. I was full of pride for Neems — and happy that we spent a good day together. The best thing about the day — and about the entire sport of K9 Nose Work — is the camaraderie. All the judges, competitors, and volunteers are all rooting for the teams. It’s not a win or lose sport — everyone and every dog can come out a winner. Which is the best thing of all.

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